Friday, November 28, 2014

Today I am here to share with you part 2 of my upper body workout. Like I said in Part 1 of this segment is that I use light weights between 3-5 pounds. You are probably thinking "How can I ever build muscle with that light of weight?"

When I took my first Pure Barre class back in 2012, I laughed when I was told to grab light weights for class. At the time I was a pretty competitive rock climber, and was used to lifting 25 pounds at the gym on a regular basis. Thinking that I would dominate the weight section of PB without a sweat, I found myself shaking and quivering in my whole upper body. Since my first PB class I have never seen my upper body so toned in my life! Regardless of weight, the key is high repetitions with small movements which leads to muscle exhaustion.

Here is some science to demonstrate why to use small weights to build a feminine tone upper body.

There are two types of muscle fibers in the body called fast twitch and slow twitch. By lifting heavy weights you increase your "fast twitch" fibers, causing the muscle to increase in size. By lifting light weights with high repetitions you increase your "slow twitch" fibers, and leads to a toned muscle without the bulk.

In the second move think about squeezing in your shoulder blades into the midline keeping your arms at a 90 degree angle. With this move make the movements small, and think more in and less out.

On the last extension hold the arms out, and flip the weights. Go straight into the next move without stopping.

When making the circles, make them small.

Keep the weights glued together and elbows wide as you bend and extend. For an added exercise, keep the arms bent, and press the weights up to the ceiling 30x.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Who doesn't love a sexy toned upper body whether it's flaunting a backless dress, rocking a sleeveless shirt, or looking amazing in your wedding dress. I'm here today to show you some of my favorite upper body workouts that will give you a feminine tone physique. The key is to use light weights, and try not to stop between reps. The longer you can hold something, and the faster you can move into the next position is going to give you maximal results. The weights I am using are 5 pounds, and I switch between 3-5 pounds (You will see more weight use for part 2 on Friday, and the reasons behind using light weights).

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

I get total hair envy whenever I see messy braids! A part of me wishes that I went to hair school so that I might be able to recreate hair master pieces that fill my Pinterest beauty boards. I don't consider myself at ALL to be a hair guru, but I think I pulled off this messy braid quite well. If you are hair challenged like me check out this awesome tutorial from Amber Fillerup.

Who doesn't love getting mail?! There's nothing like the feeling of opening your door to a surprise on your door step, and wondering whats inside! Today I want to introduce you to an amazing company called Rocksbox. Rocksbox is an online company that sends you upscale jewelry curated to your taste. You go online to sign up, and then take a short quiz. Less than two weeks later your Rocksbox arrives. The jewelry they send you is on loan to you until you want your next box. You send the jewelry back, and Rockbox sends you another box filled with new pieces. I personally love this concept because you are always wearing the hottest new trends without having to buy the pieces (they also have an option where you can purchase a piece)! I personally can't wait for my next Rocksbox :)

Try Rockbox today for only $9 for the first month using the check out code "BEYOURBRIGHTEST."

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

While I maintain a healthy diet the one thing I struggle with is dessert. Give me Baskin Robbins any day, and I'll be one happy gal. Even though my sweet tooth craves ice cream I turn to healthier options. Here is one of my favorite recipes for a tasty sweet treat :)

Frozen Banana Bites

Bananas

Natural Peanut Butter

Greek Yogurt

First slice the bananas, and place on a layer of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Apply a layer of peanut butter on the bananas, and then stack them to make a banana sandwich.

Freeze the banana sandwiches for 1 hour to stiffen up the bananas. Dip the frozen bananas in greek yogurt, and then place back on the parchment paper. Freeze for up to 2 hours, and enjoy :)

While Todd and I were driving to Utah for a family vaca, I was praying that I would see snow. Even though I have lived in Utah for the majority of my life, snow now feels like a novelty weather that I never want to live without. Snow is my beacon of hope that the holidays are just around the corner, especially my favorite Christmas :)

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Greeting from Utah! Last night Todd and I made the 11 hour drive from the 6-2-3 to the 8-0-1 to visit our families for an early Thanksgiving. When traveling for long periods of time I need to wear apparel that is super comfy. I always opt for leggings (ALWAYS). Comfy layers are a must that can be easily layered as temperatures differ between states.

I personally love green for Fall either as camouflage, army, olive, or even emerald! For this Trend Spin I decided to feature these camo pants (I promise Erin and I didn't plan on matching ;) ). I think that women fall in love with camo at first site, but then get intimidated that they might look like they just jumped out of Duck Dynasty! While camouflage is a masculine pattern, you can make the look feminine by adding accessories, bold colors, and fun patterns!

Make sure you check out these ladies, and their awesome blogs! Thanks for reading, and linking :)

Bloggers: All bloggers will be able to submit their post links via the inlinkz widget below. This will allow bloggers to show off their personal style, find new followers, and meet some great fashionistas! You will also have the chance to be featured next Tuesday for the following trend. For all bloggers we simply ask that you please follow your 4 hosts J Petite, The Fashion Canvas, Gracefullee Made, Walking in Memphis in High Heels, and provide a link to the Trend Spin Link-Up in your post or add the button below to your blog. Don't forget to stop by everyones blogs to see how they rocked todays trend!